Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/655

Rh receive from your eminence every office of friendship. We therefore are desirous of signifying to your eminence, by these our letters, that we have sent a squadron of our royal fleet to the Mediterranean sea, under the command of Sir John Narbrough, knight, to look after the safety of navigation and commerce, and to oppose the enemies of public tranquillity. We therefore amicably beseech your eminence that if ever the above-named Admiral Narbrough, or any of our ships cruising under his flag, should arrive at any of your eminence’s ports or stations, or in any place subject to the Order of Malta, they may be considered and treated as friends and allies, and that they may be permitted to purchase with their money, and at just prices, and to export provisions and munitions of war, and whatever they may require, which, on similar occasions, we will abundantly reciprocate to your eminence and to your most noble Order.

“In the meantime we heartily recommend your eminence to the safeguard of the most high and most good God.

“Given from our palace of Whitehall, the last day of November, 1674. “Your highness’s cousin and friend, “.”

In accordance with the instructions he had received, Sir John Narbrough in due course made his appearance at Malta. A dispute seems then to have arisen, the admiral declining to salute the town unless he were assured of an answer, the Order being unwilling to pay that compliment to the British flag. The Grand-Master wrote a letter of complaint upon the subject of this grievance to the king of England, and Charles replied in the following terms

“We know not how it came to pass that our admiral in the Mediterranean sea, Sir John Narbrough, knight, should have given such cause of complaint as is mentioned in your eminence’s letters, addressed to us under date of the 5th April, as to have refused to give the usual salute to the city of Malta, unless, perhaps, he had thought that something had been omitted on the part of the Maltese which he considered due to our dignity and to the flag of our royal fleet. Be it, however,